In defense of the New Mexico Bowl

My colleague Al Pike likes to tease me about the college football team I root for.

"New Mexico," he says, "is the only school which invented its own bowl game just so it could play in one."

I graduated from New Mexico in 1998, and I have to admit Al is somewhat right on this one. The New Mexico Lobos, who have never played in a postseason game more prestigious than one of only three championships the now-defunct WAC hosted between 1996 and 1998, played in the first two New Mexico Bowls at their own University Stadium in Albuquerque. Their last appearance was in 2007, a 23-0 win over Nevada, and since then the Lobos have played in zero postseason games while going 15-59.

Since then the New Mexico Bowl has been much maligned, held up as a symbol of everything that is wrong with college football's bloated bowl season, in which any team with a .500 record or better is "rewarded" by playing in a usually overhyped game that is of little interest to anyone save the alumni of the participating schools. The criticism is that the New Mexico Bowl is beyond unglamorous, features mediocre programs, is played in a dumpy, half-empty stadium, usually in cold weather, and is so low on the hierarchy of bowls that it is played first, just to get it out of the way as soon as possible.

But I'm here to defend the New Mexico Bowl. While the game is played in a stadium that is plain as can be and usually the participants will rarely compete for a national title, it fits quite nicely the criteria of what makes bowl games special.

The original concept of bowl games, starting with the Rose Bowl near the turn of the 20th Century, were to promote tourism. Invite a pair of college football teams to play in sunny places like Florida or California, and entice those who travel (and later, watch on television) to consider making a trip later on. The idea grew and now every warm-climate city (and even some not-so-warm, such as Detroit and Boise, Idaho), has its own bowl game.

The New Mexico Bowl is no exception. Though University Stadium is kind of a dump and rarely attracts a capacity crowd for Lobo games even when the team is doing well, it has has a backdrop the snow-covered Sandia Mountains. Almost every commercial break on ESPN featured a pleasant New Mexico vista.

And what a game! Colorado State rallied from a 22-point deficit, including two scores in the final minute to stun Washington State 48-45. The year before, Arizona beat Nevada 49-48 after scoring a pair of touchdowns in the final two minutes. If you're looking for an exciting way to kick off the bowl season, you can't do much better than the New Mexico Bowl the last two seasons.

In conclusion, go ahead and mock the bowl system if you must, but leave the New Mexico Bowl alone.

A playoff would be better, though.

I invite you to follow me on Twitter @JohnDoyle603, or email jdoyle@fosters.com.